World Reviewer rating

Hancock Place

Pei achieved what many an architect had worked towards here; a glass façade of almost invisible skyscraper. Each bay of each floor is a single pane of glass; there are no spandrels between the floors and the mullions are minimal. As a touch of brilliance, he a parallelogram instead of a rectangle, ensuring views were even sharper. The effect is like a stiletto. The blue reflective glass near perfectly reflects the Boston skyline. To emphasise the vertical lines he added a geometrical pinstripe to the shorter sides. However, the steel tower did initially shoot panes of glass from the structure shortly after its completion. With countermeasures put in place, and Pei’s threatened reputation restored, a chapter of architectural theory was closed with this, the ultimate building of its style.